JAMES BOND---Sam Mendes (SKYFALL) is reportedly in talks to return as director for the 24th James Bond movie after earlier declining an offer from Eon Productions. Other candidates mentioned include Christopher Nolan (THE DARK KNIGHT), Nicolas Winding Refn (DRIVE), Ang Lee (LIFE OF PI), Tom Hooper (THE KING'S SPEECH), Shane Black (IRON MAN 3) and David Yates (HARRY POTTER).

No. NO! It ought to be a cardinal rule of thumb that a Bond movie shouldn't move slower than molasses in January. Therefore, Refn should not even be considered.

I say give it to Martin Campbell. Following GREEN LANTERN, let's face it, he needs a way to save face and he's helmed two great Bond movies already, so...yeah.

THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES---Johnny Depp will star in the Tim Burton remake of the 1971 horror movie which starred Vincent Price and Joseph Cotten. Earlier, Burton said, “Dr. Phibes was a childhood favorite of mine, a mix of pathos, horror and dark humor.”

When I read ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES, I thought, 'oh, shit, they're gonna turn it into a SAW movie'. While it's nice to know that the material is in the hands of people who will respect the original, I only hope that the script is strong.

Besides, wasn't Burton signed on for...

BIG EYES---Danny Huston will co-star with Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz in this movie about 1950s artist Margaret Keane, painter of the famous "big eyes" children, who sued her husband after he took claim for her work.

Just saying.

X-MEN---Hugh Jackman said he would like to do a 20th Century Fox Wolverine crossover with rival Marvel's Avengers, “I don’t know what’s happening behind the scenes, but I think it’s fantastic. I actually just asked the other day, I said, ‘I don’t know what the legal situation is, but why don’t these companies come together? Why isn’t it possible?’ Because personally, I would love to mix it up with Robert Downey Jr. and Iron Man and kick his ass. It’d be great… Consistency is incredible. Who wouldn’t want to be involved with that?”

Two things are certain: a) this will never happen, which is a shame because b) it'd be freaking awesome.

THE FLINTSTONES---direct-to-video animated movie based on the 1960s Hanna-Barbera animated series is underway at WWE Studios/Warner Bros. Voices will be provided by WWE's John Cena, Vince McMahon and CM Punk.

X-MEN---Hugh Jackman said he would like to do a 20th Century Fox Wolverine crossover with rival Marvel's Avengers, “I don’t know what’s happening behind the scenes, but I think it’s fantastic. I actually just asked the other day, I said, ‘I don’t know what the legal situation is, but why don’t these companies come together? Why isn’t it possible?’ Because personally, I would love to mix it up with Robert Downey Jr. and Iron Man and kick his ass. It’d be great… Consistency is incredible. Who wouldn’t want to be involved with that?” Two things are certain: a) this will never happen, which is a shame because b) it'd be freaking awesome.

Sooner or later Spider-Man and X-Men will revert back to Disney. Then it can happen. FOX and Sony can't hang onto these properties forever. Edit: Well don't know if its accurate, but I read as long as FOX makes an X-Men film every 3 or 4 years the license never expires.

TERMINATOR 5---Arnold Schwarzenegger commented on the status of the latest Terminator movie and other projects, "We’re writing it now. There are three projects being written that involve me. One is TERMINATOR 5, the other is a Conan movie that Universal is doing and there’s the sequel to TWINS, which is called TRIPLETS. We’ll all look quite different in that. The third triplet is Eddie Murphy, so figure that one out." The Conan movie is a direct sequel to the 1984 CONAN THE BARBARIAN and ignores CONAN THE DESTROYER and the 2011 CONAN THE BARBARIAN.

ANNA NICOLE---photo released from the Lifetime biomovie about Anna Nicole Smith and her 84-year-old millionaire husband J. Howard Marshall. Agnes Bruckner, Martin Landau and Virgina Madsen star. Bruckner said, "Martin told me he met Anna Nicole through Hugh Hefner. So the first time I showed up on set, he looked at me with awe in the same way J. Howard probably looked at Anna...[they] needed each other. He made her feel special, and she took away his loneliness." Bruckner had to wear facial, neck and breast prosthetics and fat suits, "The breasts took three hours to apply. It was unbelievable how they turned out. I could dance in them, and they even survived a swim in the pool." Premiere is June 29.

DOCTOR WHO---Roger Moore (THE SPY WHO LOVED ME, THE SAINT) might appear on DOCTOR WHO. In a Twitter conversation between Moore and writer Mark Gattis (DOCTOR WHO, SHERLOCK), Gattis complimented Moore on his performance in THE MAN WHO HAUNTED HIMSELF. Moore replied, "I might be equally wonderful in 'Doctor Who' or 'Sherlock' if asked." Gattis replied he would be in touch.

JOSS WHEDON---question and answer session:

Q: Will you be doing more FIREFLY projects? A: "Right now I'm happy to say everybody is working doing good jobs. There's a real fear of 'The Monkey's Paw,' you know? You bring it back to life and it isn't the same. Even if it's GREAT and it isn't the same. I'm dying to get on a ship with those guys again, but I'm also doing yet another go**amn huge ensemble movie ['The Avengers 2']. Why can't I do a movie about just one guy? So right now I can't even access that part of my brain. If all the planets align that would be great, but I'm not going to do what I did the first time and move heaven and earth to make it happen."

Q: Is there another Marvel character you would like to do? A: "If I could get my hands on absolutely anybody it would be Batman. (audience applause) He's a Marvel character in the DC universe. And if I could 'do' any, probably Thor, because face it, those arms… (laughs)"

Q: Will Quicksilver being in X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST preclude him from being in AVENGERS 2? A: "… That's not something I can really talk about, but Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch are going to be in the movie and they're going to be AWESOME."

TWO AND A HALF MEN---Season 11 will add a new character: Charlie Harper's long-lost daughter appears searching for her father and in moves in with the characters played by Ashton Kutcher and Jon Cryer.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY---Glenn Close has joined the cast as the leader of the Nova Corps police force.

BREAKING BAD---creator Vince Gilligan commented on the rumored Saul Goodman spin-off series, "Well, you never assume lightning is going to strike twice. Having said that, I think a Saul Goodman show would be a great deal of fun, and a great challenge, and something I would look forward to doing. It’s definitely not set in stone yet, it’s definitely the early days of the process, and it may happen or it may not..."

BLACK MASS---Johnny Depp has reportedly left the biomovie about Boston mobster Whitey Bulger after his minimum salary demand of $20 million was not met. The producers had offered $10 million.

DEPRAVITY---movie underway in which a group of roommates kill an innocent man they thought was a killer. They then try to pin the murder on one of their own. Katharine McPhee stars.

SEVEN WONDERS---20th Century Fox/Brett Ratner action/adventure movie underway which will be the first of a trilogy about the Seven Wonders of the World.

THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE 3---Eric Roberts has reportedly joined the sequel cast.

ANNA NICOLE---photo released from the Lifetime biomovie about Anna Nicole Smith and her 84-year-old millionaire husband J. Howard Marshall. Agnes Bruckner, Martin Landau and Virgina Madsen star. Bruckner said, "Martin told me he met Anna Nicole through Hugh Hefner. So the first time I showed up on set, he looked at me with awe in the same way J. Howard probably looked at Anna...[they] needed each other. He made her feel special, and she took away his loneliness." Bruckner had to wear facial, neck and breast prosthetics and fat suits, "The breasts took three hours to apply. It was unbelievable how they turned out. I could dance in them, and they even survived a swim in the pool." Premiere is June 29.

So, if she spends any time in the movie wearing nothing but the prosthetics and the fat suit, does it count as a nude scene? Inquiring (dirty old) minds want to know!

(Not that I'm wanting to come off disrespectful to Anna Nicole Smith. The poor girl, may she rest in peace, was a trainwreck. )

Screw them - who on earth is going to do the Stubby Kaye part?? That's a Killer of a song...

I believe Nathan Lane is the closest thing we have today to Stubby Kaye, and he could hit that number out of the park easily. The bizarre casting ideas I've heard over the years about this long-proposed G&D remake (years ago Vin Diesel was "being sought") all seem terribly misguided. It appears they originate from a common misconception that the 1955 film is some kind of perfect untouchable "classic," and its unconventional casting of Brando in the romantic lead is part of its "magic." Others (like me) believe the quirky casting of that film to have been a tragic mistake that rendered the whole project an inevitable misfire. It really should have been Sinatra as Sky Masterson. He was practically born to play (and sing) it. Brando did as well as he could given the circumstances, but his casting rendered the film a "novelty" in the same way Joe Mankiewicz' "Julius Caesar" had been the year before. The gimmick of the unlikely casting of the great mumbler in a famous Shakespearian role may have helped at the box office, but it unfortunately makes the film itself sort of a film-history "asterisk."

Am I the only one who thinks it'll take more than another beefcake mumbler being taught suddenly to sing and dance to pull off a successful "Guys and Dolls" remake?

UNBREAKABLE---M. Night Shyamalan commented on a sequel to the 2000 movie that starred Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson, "It's getting closer. Slowly I’m getting a story in my head that I feel like is able to tell what I’m feeling right now. It's the story of a guy who kind of wakes up with a little grey feeling in the morning. I love that character. It’s something that I feel and I want to talk more about that character." Shyamalan also said he's interested in a sequel to THE LAST AIRBENDER.

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN 5---co-directors Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg (KON-TIKI) will direct the latest sequel.

INTO THE LOOKING GLASS---James Bobin (THE MUPPETS) is in talks to direct the sequel to Tim Burton's ALICE IN WONDERLAND.

AMERICAN IDOL---Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj confirmed they are not returning as judges for next season.

INHERENT VICE---Katherine Waterston, daughter of Sam Waterston, will be the female lead in this movie based on the private detective novel. Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson and Benecio Del Toro also star.

PIXELS---Chris Columbus (HOME ALONE, HARRY POTTER) is in talks to direct this movie based on the short film about 1980s video game characters attacking New York.

DEATH PACT---FX sitcom pilot starring Tracy Morgan as a loser, drug-dealing, assistant high school coach and war hero who returns to his hometown. He meets three former friends and students who are down on their luck and gets them in his self-help program.